UBER AND TAXI AND MINICAB SERVICES

That this House notes that Uber, a multinational company based in San Francisco, US, is now providing taxi services in the UK; further notes that Uber threatens to put out of work many established taxi and minicab firms and their employees, currently subject to various regulations to ensure safety standards are upheld; further notes that Uber employees have been involved in a number of scandals, including lawsuits in India where a woman was raped by an Uber driver, the placing of false orders with rival companies, discrimination against blind people, threats against critical journalists and safety concerns over their drivers; believes that Uber is engaging in unfair competition with existing taxi and minicab firms; and calls on the Government to undertake an urgent review of regulations and legislation in order to prevent taxi and minicab firms being forced out of business due to unfair competition from Uber, with a consequent lowering of standards of taxi and minicab provision to the general public.